OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team rider Thomas Rabou leads a breakaway during Stage 5 of Le Tour de Langkawi on Monday, March 3, 2014, in Rembau, Malaysia. OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team captain Thomas Rabou has won the the Criterium International d'Alger on Saturday in Algeria, giving his team its first Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) victory of the 2014 season. -- FILE PHOTO: OCBC SINGAPORE PRO CYCLING TEAM

By Chua Siang Yee

OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team captain Thomas Rabou has won the the Criterium International d'Alger on Saturday in Algeria, giving his team its first Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) victory of the 2014 season.

The 30-year-old Dutchman captured the 96-km single-stage race in the Algerian capital of Algiers with a time of 2:14:36. He finished 21 seconds ahead of Moroccans Tarik Chaoufi and Essaid Abelouache, who came in second and third respectively.

Team principal Daniel Loy praised his skipper's resilience. Rabou pulled out of stage eight of the Le Tour de Langkawi on Thursday owing to stomach flu but bounced back to give the team its fourth-ever UCI Tour stage win.

Loy said: "Thomas continues to lead by example as our captain. A few days ago, he could barely even get back on his bicycle because of his ailing stomach.